[1] Fans shouted "POSSUM!" during the pause.
[2] Simpsons signal in intro; Up Up and Away signal.
[3] Two Get Back signals and I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart and Complete Stop signals.
[4] Simpsons signal at the end.
[5] All Fall Down signal.
[6] Simpsons, All Fall Down, Turn Turn Turn, and Random Note signals introduced.
[7] Simpsons and Turn Turn Turn signals.
[8] Mike on accordian for first known time.

During the pause in Divided Sky, some fans, mocking Trey’s comment two nights earlier, shouted out “POSSUM!” Trey teased Follow the Yellow Brick Road at the end of Fluffhead and in the Antelope intro and Somewhere Over the Rainbow both before and during Wilson. Antelope contained Simpsons signals in the intro and at the end of the song as well as a Groove is in the Heart tease from Mike and an Up Up and Away signal before BBFCFM. BBFCFM subsequently contained Hawaii (The Beach Boys) quotes, a Lullaby of Birdland tease, two Get Back signals, and I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart and Complete Stop signals. The Secret Language Instructions featured the introductions of the Simpsons, All Fall Down, Turn Turn Turn, and Random Note signals and were preceded by an All Fall Down signal in Possum and Simpsons and Turn Turn Turn signals as well as a Lazy (Deep Purple) tease from Trey upon the return to Possum. The BBFCFM sandwich is often referred to as the “Big Black Furry Antelope.” Mike used an accordion on stage for the first known time during Contact.

Show Reviews

this show is a real winner. it truly offers something for everyone, old school fan and newbie. it is chalk full of so many brilliantly played classics, and on top of all that, it has, in my opinion, the jam of the year in the first set.

the curtain is a very sharp opener here, and it pairs up nicely with a strong melt. in '92, phish had not quite figured this song out yet, so it was not quite up to its potential. none the less, this is a strong early version. poor heart and papyrus are both played well. then trey and page hammer home a really nice maze. like melt, this one not quite at its fullest potential yet; although, maze was further along than melt at this point, jam wise. dinner and divided work well together before a nicely place mound. then this set really starts to get hot. fluff head is played with a truck of load energy and it gives way to one of the best antelopes ever. it starts off fairly straight forward, but the jams shifts into a darker realm. page hits the coolest effect on his keyboard. i don't know how to describe it...if ice could sing maybe. very chilling effect. the bbfcfm that follows is pretty nuts too. musically, it is brilliant. lyrically, it's hilarious. from the "why do i want to kill you" line, it goes to "oh why," repeatedly, to "hawaii" repeatedly, to a brief little tropical/hawaiin scat thing, with some really funny fishman stuff, back into bbfcfm. then, as if that weren't enough, they slam this one back into antelope. killer set closer.

the boys keep the action coming in the 2nd set. wilson starts the set off in rocking fashion before dipping into a very fun version of brother, with a nice trey solo in there. the horse>silent is an excellent breather song...hell, people probably still needed a breather from the antelope. the landlady gets the party jumping again and it dives into a very bouncy take on lizards. page sounds nice on this one. i love mmgamoio, and this is another good version. sloth lights the place up, and it keeps the energy rolling. rift is straight forward, and the love you is nice fun. after spattering some secret language around throughout this show, phish kind of realized that few were getting it. at this point, trey decided to give another language lesson. this is where i find this tape valuable for newbies. even though they don't mess with the language fun as much any more, it is still good fun, and who knows, when they do, you want people to get it! after urging people to spread the tapes with these language lessons around, they push into a nice rowdy possum, of course, chalk full of language play. good possum. contact>fire works as a very good encore to a very fun show.

it is not completely unheard of to have the jam of the night in the first set, but it happens sometimes. tonight is one of those nights. the second set is really strong, despite not having any of the typical early phish big guns in the setlist, tweezer, yem, hood, 'lope (nailed it in the 1st of course), slave, etc. it is just one killer tune after another. a great show for any phish fan.

Set 1 is on my short list of all time favorite Phish sets. This Fluffhead has somehow become the one against which i measure all others. The Antelope/BBFCFM sequence is simply incredible. The whole set is just really fantastic.

Another of The Phish Companion 3.0's Top 100 shows, this is one I can't really get my head around as a legitimate inclusion in the Top 100 Phish Shows Ever Played, an illustrious distinction that should be reserved for shows more...well, distinct, than this. Nevertheless, this show is extraordinarily well put together, full of fun antics, great setlist picks, and a couple of must-hear Phishy musical moments.

The Curtain is always a fantastic, tone setting opener. This Curtain is impeccably played and followed with a trio of SOAMelt, Poor Heart, and Guelah that were all well played as well. Following the classic opening salvo is only the fourth Maze ever played, and it shows, as the band doesn't seem to be incredibly comfortable with the nuances of the composed section yet, flubbing some notes and playing at a considerably slower pace. Things pick up during the solo sections, though, as the Page and Trey duel delivers some truly melodic playing not usually found in Maze. Unfortunately, this version doesn't quite have the epic build up of tension that Maze has today, but it's still a good listen. As such, I would definitely recommend this Maze, mostly as a curiosity piece but also as a genuinely enjoyable bit of pre-1993 Phish to listen to. Dinner and a Movie followed right behind Maze, and featured some hilarious audience participation. I enjoyed this Dinner while it lasted, it wouldn't be long until America's favorite pre-nuptial ritual would become a rarity at Phish shows. (1992 was the last year Dinner and a Movie has been played more than four times.)

Divided Sky feels rather truncated (the length of the infamous 'pause' is negligible at best, despite the fans' best efforts to get them to play Possum), but is never underappreciated. Trey customarily rips this Divided Sky jam, and provides the first bona fide highlight of the evening. An early, weak Mound >s into Fluffhead, a welcome surprise given the band's infrequent propensity to play multiple composed songs in the first set. This Fluffhead is right in the pocket, and totally hits the spot at this point in the set, and features an amusing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" tease at the end that carries into the start of Antelope.

You've almost certainly heard this incredible Big Black Furry Antelope From Mars (it was released on Live Bait 6) and if not, I (and everyone else) highly recommend it. It's certainly a rip-roaring good time, featuring dissonant playing up the wazoo, a great -> BBFCFM, hilarious Hawaii and Three Stooges antics, secret language of the Get Back, Complete Stop, and Simpsons variety. I mean, damn, this Antelope is something special to behold. This is Phish at their at their most wild and uninhibited! They are completely out of control here in the best possible way! I can't talk this Antelope up enough, just go listen to it!

The second set of this show is undeniably songy, and if it were played today everyone would almost certainly hate it due to lack of jams, despite the incredible song selection (a thought which amuses me greatly). Seriously, the big jams are nowhere to be found, but there a myriad of interesting things going on in this set. One of the longest versions of Wilson ever has "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" teases and gets so quiet at times you can barely hear it. The Brother that follows is a beautiful mess. Similarly to Maze and Mound, the Horse > Silent combo features a bit of early-version jitters. A sentence beginning with nondescript versions of Landlady and Lizards and a new tune, My Mind's Got a Mind of Its Own follow, is punctuated nicely by The Sloth. (I take back what I said earlier, by the way, phans might be s**ting their pants for the privilege of adding Brother, Landlady, Lizards, MMGAMOIO, and The Sloth to their stats!)

The second half of the set brings us the newly (and mercifully) redone Rift. It's hasn't quite reached its blazingly fast peak yet (and honestly, they've play it faster in 2016 than they play it here), but if you've heard the old version of Rift, you'll recognize what a relief it is for the song to finally be up to speed. More antics follow this pretty well-played Rift in the form of Cold as Ice, Henrietta's new walkup music. The ensuing Love You features Fish introducing the band members and taking a hard-earned bag-vac solo, which is something you don't see every day!

The centerpiece of the second set is the final song, a Possum that includes instructions to all the different secret language signals the band was using at the time! Absolutely nobody who considers themselves a phan should go without hearing these instructions, just in case Phish ever decides to bring back secret language. Be prepared, everybody! A fitting Contact with Mike on accordion/Fire combo sends the Campus Club crowd home happy.

Killer early show, one of the best examples of how great Phish was becoming before our (your, their) very eyes.

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